The Game of Life
by The Crowe
Summary: A regular night out for Gohan, Videl, Erasa and Sharpener turns into a struggle for their lives! *Chapter 2 now complete*
1. The Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, its sister series Z, or its demented half-brother series GT. Akira Toriyama came up with the concept of Dragon Ball and drew the manga, TOEI turned in into anime, and FUNimation and AB International Distribution have both dubbed it into English. Therefore I have nothing to do with it.  
  
Notes: This is my first ever fanfic. So be nice okay.  
  
1 The Game Of Life  
  
1.1 Chapter 1 - The Scream  
  
"Well that was.dull."  
  
"Yeah I'll say. No action at all. Just some stupid romance."  
  
A blonde-haired girl interrupted the two obviously bored guys standing directly beside her; "Oh come on you two. What were you expecting from a film called 'My Love'?"  
  
The dark-haired, slim boy next to her chuckled: "Oh, I don't know. But I thought maybe when that guy came to shoot her, it might get more interesting."  
  
The blonde, well-muscled guy located behind them laughed: "Yeah I know what you mean, I thought 'Hey, finally, something worth watching', but then he ended up making out with her for the next half an hour or so."  
  
The blonde girl chuckled again; "Don't give me that, you liked that part Sharpener."  
  
At this point the dark-haired guy couldn't help but start bursting out with almost insane laughter. Sharpener turned bright red and tried to resist the urge to lash out at him. But he was spared when Erasa mentioned that Gohan liked it just as much.  
  
Before Gohan could respond, another female voice called out: "Liked what just as much?" Gohan, Erasa and Sharpener turned round to see Videl, who was approaching them with soft drinks.  
  
"Oh nothing of importance." Erasa replied sarcastically. "I was just saying how."  
  
".she was saying how bad the film was. Hehe, right Erasa." Gohan interrupted, speaking the last two words in a seemingly forced way, not quite unnoticed by Videl.  
  
"Yeah whatever." replied Videl. "Do you want your drinks or not, they cost me a fortune."  
  
"Hey I told you, I'll pay you back." Sharpener reminded.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, it's on me. I don't mind." Videl answered, smiling.  
  
Gohan took a step forward; "So, now what?"  
  
Erasa gave an excited giggle; "Oh I don't know, the night is still young. There's plenty of stuff we could do."  
  
"Do you have any suggestions?" Videl asked curiously.  
  
"Hmm.well I guess we could go to that new nightclub in town," suggested Erasa.  
  
Sharpener cocked his ear at hearing this; "New nightclub?" he asked, surprised.  
  
It was Videl who replied, turning to face Sharpener; "Oh yeah, I remember seeing it under construction a few weeks ago, when I was on one of my crime beats." She looked at Erasa again, slightly baffled; "But I didn't know it was already open."  
  
Erasa nodded her head; "Well, it seemed that way to me this morning. I have to walk past it everyday on my way to school, and it looked like they'd finished working on it."  
  
Gohan found himself confused by Erasa's last statement and turned to face her; "So, you actually don't know if it's open yet? You're just assuming it is?"  
  
Erasa sighed; "Well I guess, but either way I still think we should go check it out."  
  
Sharpener finished the remains of his drink, threw in into a nearby trash can and shrugged his shoulders; "Yeah sure, it beats hanging around here I guess."  
  
Videl and Gohan both nodded their heads in agreement.  
  
Erasa smiled and began to walk off, only to turn back round and face the others again about 3 metres away.  
  
"I guess it's settled then."  
  
  
  
After half-an-hour of trundling along, with Erasa gossiping, Sharpener flexing and Gohan and Videl being their usual serious selves, they finally got to the spot where the supposed new nightclub was.  
  
Five minutes later, they were heading back. Erasa was in a bad mood after Sharpener had laughed at her when they had found out that it wasn't even due to be open for another two weeks yet.  
  
"Hmph. I still can't believe we wasted all this time all coming out here. I knew it would be closed," Sharpener moaned, with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"Oh shut up Sharpener. You didn't have to follow me," Erasa snapped back.  
  
Before Sharpener could make any sort of witty reply Gohan intervened; "Hey guys calm down alright. So what if the club was closed. I'm sure there's plenty of other things to do."  
  
"Gohan's right," Videl said cheerfully. "There's bound to be."  
  
Videl was cut off suddenly, as a deathly loud, bonechilling scream filled the air around them. It was horrific to hear and it seemed to echo off everything in sight. Erasa found herself cringing, whilst the others just didn't move. The impact and magnitude of it all made it sound like whoever was screaming was probably better off dead.  
  
After it had ceased, there was an eerie silence, which felt like it lasted a lifetime. No-one spoke, or moved. When she had regained her composure, Videl realised that it had been a woman who had screamed, and instinctively she found herself charging down the road towards where the sound had come from. Gohan, not only worried for the girl who had screamed but also for Videl's safety, followed her at a close distance. Sharpener and Erasa just stared at each other, the fear clear in both their eyes.  
  
"You think we should follow them?" Erasa asked timidly.  
  
"I guess we should." Sharpener replied, almost quieter than the night itself. Sharpener had a reputation of being a tough, macho guy. However when it all came down to it, deep inside he was nothing like his exterior showed him to be.  
  
The two blondes worked up the courage to sprint down the road and catch up to Videl and Gohan, who had stopped at the other end.  
  
"The scream came from down here." Videl noted, pointing down an incomprehensibly dark alleyway as Erasa and Sharpener appeared behind them.  
  
"So.are you suggesting that we should.go down there?" Erasa questioned, still out of breath from her running, not to mention the fear spreading through her veins.  
  
"No, I'm suggesting that I should." Videl answered confidently. "There's no need for you three to follow me, I've been trained for this sort of thing, as I'm sure you know."  
  
Erasa and Sharpener both wanted to say that they would follow, but deep down they knew they were both too afraid to go. Which is why they were completely shocked when Gohan spoke up:  
  
"No Videl, I'm coming too."  
  
Out of curiosity, Videl found herself staring directly at the person who had just spoken; "Why? What do you think you can do Gohan?"  
  
'Oh great,' Gohan thought. He knew he couldn't talk about his power or strength in front of his friends.  
  
"I just think you shouldn't go alone. For all you know there's a girl lying dead in that alleyway and the killer's still in there. And besides, I thought you might like some companionship."  
  
Despite his fear Sharpener couldn't help but laugh at that; "Oh come on Gohan, companionship? Huh, whatever. You just want to spend some time with her alone, that's all. Everyone knows you fancy the pants off her."  
  
Erasa found herself giggling as Gohan's face went bright red. Sharpener gave a contented smirk, he noticed Videl blushing too.  
  
"Hehe, why ever would you think that Sharpener?" Gohan eventually managed to get out, holding his right hand behind his head and laughing nervously.  
  
"Yes, we're just.friends." Videl responded, trying to keep as straight a face as possible. Although she was extremely curious to find out if Sharpener was telling the truth. I mean, Gohan wasn't too bad looking. It was then that she realised what she had just thought and blushed even further. Trying to shake it off, she ignored Sharpener's further snide remarks and Erasa's constant giggles and spoke up again:  
  
"Look, I'm going to go check this out now, you coming Gohan?"  
  
Gohan nodded and began to follow her as she walked off. He couldn't sense any evil ki signatures coming from down the alleyway, but he guessed Sharpener was right, he did like spending time with her alone.  
  
"Have fun," Sharpener crowed.  
  
"Yeah, good luck and all," Erasa added.  
  
"Bye." Gohan and Videl responded together.  
  
  
  
The funny thing was, there was no dead or injured girl. In fact there was nothing. Gohan was just as bemused as Videl was, as they both continued to explore the undergrowth of the alleyway.  
  
"Damn. I could have sworn it came from down here," an angered Videl retorted.  
  
The alleyway was actually very long and spanned almost 200 metres. Videl and Gohan had reached the end of it, and were now exploring every nook and cranny trying to locate any clues as to where the scream came from.  
  
"Heh, it's like one of those detective movies." Gohan noticed, trying to spark up some sort of conversation. He could see that Videl was angry and was trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Sorry Gohan, but this is generally what my life is like normally. Every day someone is killed or hurt, somewhere is robbed or something stolen. And I have to come and sort it out."  
  
Videl relaxed a bit and sighed; "It never ends. Whenever I sort anything out, there's always another problem, or some other maniac I have to stop. It's just an endless cycle."  
  
Gohan could really sympathise. The same thing happened in his life too. He just hoped that there would be no more problems after Cell. Fortunately seven years had passed with no threat so far and so finally Gohan had decided to settle down and stop fighting. However he was interrupted from his train of thought, when much to his great shock he found Videl leaning into him.  
  
"Uhm, Videl?"  
  
Videl stared up at him and smiled; "Yes, Gohan?"  
  
"Oh umm.nothing." Gohan blundered out. He was disappointed when Videl stood upright again.  
  
"Come on Gohan, let's go. Maybe it was some kid or something," reasoned Videl. "I can't believe I got so worked up over it."  
  
Gohan doubted that Videl was right; after all, the scream had been so. horrifying. But there was no sense in worrying about it too much.  
  
"Sure, let's go," he replied.  
  
The two had walked only a few steps when the bloodcurdling scream returned. This time even more ghastly than before. It made Videl sick to her stomach, whatever was happening to this poor person, it sounded horrendously painful.  
  
The sheer recognition of something suddenly hit Videl, this scream seemed to be both male and female, and was coming from just a hundred metres or so away. With the realisation of it all becoming clear, she found herself looking straight at Gohan, who it seemed had worked out the same thing as well.  
  
"ERASA! SHARPENER!" Videl screamed, as she sprinted down the alleyway, abject fear coursing through her, as she feared for her friends' lives.  
  
Gohan swiftly followed her. If anything happened to his friends, he'd be absolutely devastated. He'd let too many people die in his lifetime, and he wouldn't let it happen again. Screaming, he overtook Videl, a slight aura forming around him.  
  
They approached the alleyway exit. Unbelieving, they stopped in their tracks, completely still, frozen with shock. Erasa and Sharpener were gone!  
  
  
  
"What the? Where the hell are they?" Videl was beginning to panic. 'Oh god, what if something's happened to them? Oh god, what if they're dead?' she thought. Sharpener and Erasa had been her best friends throughout her entire life. If anyone had done anything to them.  
  
She broke down, tears spilling down her cheeks. Her legs began to shake and she dropped to the floor. Gohan was distraught himself, and watching Videl cry was too much for him. He felt pity as she screamed and punched the air in an insane rage. Eventually he found himself running over and kneeling down next to her:  
  
"Videl," he spoke softly.  
  
Videl did not reply. Unsurprisingly her mind was elsewhere, as her sobs became louder. Gohan attempted to communicate with her again:  
  
"Please Videl listen. We'll find them, don't worry."  
  
Unexpectedly, Videl grabbed Gohan's shirt and pulled him closer; "Yeah, I'm sure we'll find their dead bodies lying somewhere. Did you hear that scream Gohan. DID YOU?!?!.." Videl lost her train of thought and began to cry again.  
  
Hoping for some sign of life, Gohan tried sensing their ki, but he couldn't detect anything. He would have sensed it if anyone had attacked them though; this was all too weird for him. What was even weirder was when Videl suddenly hugged him and started crying into his shoulder. He selfishly realised that he liked this, but with current events, he ignored how he felt and did his best to comfort her. Eventually the emotion became too much, and Gohan started weeping as well.  
  
  
  
Five minutes passed, and only then did Videl let go. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face pale:  
  
"Gohan.what do you think has happened to them?" she asked quietly. "I mean, you heard them scream right? Something bad must have happened."  
  
"Look, people just can't disappear Videl. They might have been playing some trick on us." Gohan replied. He knew he was lying through his teeth, but he wanted Videl to feel better.  
  
"You're such a bad liar, Gohan." Videl answered back. Gohan observed as she lifted herself off the ground. "I'm going to call the police, I would do it with my watch communicator, but I stupidly went and forgot it tonight. Do you have any money Gohan?"  
  
Gohan aimlessly responded by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a 20 Zeni coin. Videl took it without hesitation and ran off to find a payphone. It took a few seconds before Gohan fully registered than she was gone.  
  
"Hey Videl!" he shouted, but she was nowhere in sight. Gohan scolded himself for not stopping her.  
  
"Damn it Videl, you shouldn't have run off by yourself."  
  
Closing his eyes, he was able to locate her ki about 50 metres away. He was about to head off in that direction when he heard an all too familiar sound he never wanted to hear again. It was a scream of torture, of pain, of pure agony. And this was magnified as Gohan discovered just whom it was coming from.  
  
"NOOO!" he screamed, charging forward, picking up pace, heading to where Videl's ki was.or wasn't. In one split second Videl's ki had vanished. With renewed determination and anger; Gohan began to gain an all too familiar golden aura around him as he approached where Videl's ki once was.  
  
  
  
A telephone. Off the hook, swinging from side to side, and no movement inside the phone booth at all. Gohan just stared, he was transfixed, as images of what might have happened flashed through his head.  
  
"Vi..del." he whimpered.  
  
For 7 years Gohan had kept out of SSJ form; he had never returned to it, for it brought back painful memories of his father. But the level was once again reached as the anger reached inhuman levels and the barrier was broken. With one primal scream Gohan recovered the trademark green eyes and golden glow once again.  
  
The cloaked man stood behind him, watching this event quite contently. His ki signature was masked and he knew that the boy couldn't sense him. He slowly stepped forward and grabbed him, placing his hand over the kid's mouth.  
  
SSJ Gohan was thrashing wildly about. Somebody was holding him tightly, and he couldn't get away.  
  
'What's wrong with me?' he thought, panicking. 'Why can't I break free?'  
  
"HEY, LET GO!" Gohan screamed, attempting desperately to find out who was doing this.  
  
He never got his answer.  
  
Something pierced his back, which sent excruciating pain throughout Gohan's entire body. He let out a haunting scream, as the agony reached unbearable levels. The cloaked man then proceeded to grab his head, whilst holding his other hand underneath his chin.  
  
A weak and pained Gohan could swear his life was flashing before his eyes; 'Oh god, he's going to break my neck. Oh god, he's going to break my neck.'  
  
However, a high-pitched whine filled his head, which caused Gohan to scream even louder. It felt like his head was going to explode. Tears poured out his eyes, as the pain wracking his body increased.  
  
The cloaked man smiled and pushed the spear into Gohan's back further, piercing his stomach and bursting out of the other side.  
  
The pain increased tenfold and became too much to bear, and the noise in his head was deafening. Coughing up blood, Gohan realised that he couldn't cope.and for the first time in his life, he gave up.  
  
The world got very much darker.  
  
  
  
Notes: Read and review please. :P  
  
Also tell me if you think the rating is too high (or perhaps too low). Thank you. 


	2. Dull Blue

Disclaimer: If I owned Dragon Ball then quite frankly it would be crap. Fortunately for you all I don't. Toriyama drew it, TOEI have the Japanese rights, FUNimation have the US rights, and AB have the European rights.  
  
Notes: I finally got round to finishing this chapter. Sorry I was ill recently, and have been busy with other things. Also I just plain forgot about it over the last couple of days anyway. :P  
  
Chapter 2 - Dull Blue  
  
The pain was unbelievable. A high-pitched screeching sound was causing Sharpener to feel intense agony and unbearable torment. In his mind, he believed that even being skinned alive could not compare to this.  
  
Amidst the torment, he also felt another strange feeling; it was almost like he was flying. He was consistently trying to open his eyes, but the severe head pains would not let him. He screamed once again, as many tears rushed out of the corners of his eyes. Holding his head, he whimpered as the noise increased in intensity and gained an octave.  
  
More screams followed, the feeling of flying got stronger, and Sharpener began wildly thrashing about, trying to find a way to distract himself from the pain.  
  
'OH GOD, MAKE IT STOP. MAKE IT STOP!!!" he cried out in anguish.  
  
As the pain increased, the intelligent thought decreased. Sharpener was trying to keep conscious, but the whining sound in his head had other ideas. With one final increase Sharpener's tolerance levels were broken. The noise finally reached its full threshold, and he was overwhelmed.  
  
With his pleas for mercy ignored, Sharpener lost control.  
  
  
  
"Sharpener.Sharpener!"  
  
He was unconscious and unresponsive.  
  
"SHARPENER!"  
  
Using all the strength she could muster; Erasa shook Sharpener's hand in a vain hope of him responding to her at least. She was still weak from the pain she had suffered from the weird noise in her head, and upon it ceasing, she had found herself in a place she didn't even remotely recognise. The first thing of notice she had seen however; had been Sharpener lying unconscious next to her.  
  
"Sharpener.wake up." she spoke softly to herself. Fearing the worst, she once again checked Sharpener's pulse, as she had done when she had first seen him like this. The pulse was weak, but it was there.  
  
'Oh god.I wish I'd listened in First Aid Class.' she thought to herself. 'If Videl was here, she'd know what to do. She had to learn it; as part of her job.'  
  
Staring down at Sharpener's pale form, she considered giving mouth-to- mouth. The only problem was that she had no idea how too. Sighing, she decided that she should try it anyway. She didn't want Sharpener to die after all.  
  
Trying to recall any memories of her First Aid class that she could, she tilted Sharpener's head back.  
  
"Umm.is this right.I can't remember," a worried Erasa murmured. She was now starting to panic; she didn't want to do anything that might make it worse.  
  
Hoping that she was doing the right thing, she pressed her lips against his, ready to initiate the blowing procedure. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Sharpener moaning. Shrieking, she pulled herself away from him. Shockingly, she noticed that Sharpener's eyes were open, and he was smirking at her.  
  
"Sharpener!" she began to shout, but then she softened; "I'm glad you're okay."  
  
A weak Sharpener responded; "Huh, okay? That's a laugh. My head feels like an elephant just stepped on it."  
  
Erasa was curious: "You mean.hey did you get that weird noise in your head as well?"  
  
Sharpener nodded:  
  
"You mean the unbearable, agonising screeching noise? If so, then yeah."  
  
Now that Sharpener was responding to her and the pain had somewhat diminished; Erasa was finally able to take a good look at her surroundings.  
  
"It's.pretty dark in here," she stumbled out.  
  
Pulling himself up to his feet, Sharpener had to agree with her. They were in a fairly small room, which had a distinct dull blue lighting. Although with the pain still lingering he was finding it hard to stay focused.  
  
"Where.do you think.we are?" he asked breathlessly.  
  
"I don't know." Erasa replied. "Last thing I remember is waiting for Gohan and Videl to come out of some alleyway somewhere.and then some weird noise in my head.then the pain."  
  
Sharpener suddenly had a brainwave:  
  
"Erasa, when that weird noise was going through our heads, did you feel a strange sensation like you were flying?"  
  
Erasa tensed up, as if she'd just realised something bad:  
  
"Yes, yes I did. But I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are!"  
  
The two of them stayed silent. They both knew that if they were right, they could be very far away from home indeed.  
  
"I'm scared Sharpener," Erasa blurted out.  
  
If the situation was any different Sharpener would have probably covered up how he felt and lied straight out, but now he would not.  
  
"Me too Erasa.me too."  
  
However despite the new fear and apprehension he was feeling Sharpener couldn't help but smirk at the same time.  
  
"But were you kissing me when I woke up, or was I just imagining that?"  
  
  
  
Videl was stumbling. After the intense pain she had felt, she was finding it hard to move anywhere. She wouldn't have been surprised to find out that her brains had turned to mush.  
  
"Ugh," she mumbled, as her legs gave way and she fell to the floor. Deciding to try to regain some self-control, she remained on the ground.  
  
"Why.do I feel so weak?"  
  
Videl remembered a phone booth; she was phoning up to report her friends' disappearance. But then, somebody had grabbed her, and then the noise.and the pain.  
  
Shuddering, Videl tried to force any memories about that experience out of her head. She didn't know where she was, or really how she got here; but she had a suspicion that it was something to do with the whining sound that had been in her head.  
  
"Maybe Erasa and Sharpener were brought here too?" she questioned aloud.  
  
Expectedly, no one replied. Videl thought to herself a bit more:  
  
'And Gohan.maybe it happened to him as well? Or maybe he's still there, wondering where I've gone.'  
  
Tears began to form in Videl's eyes, out of both fear and hopelessness. However, she wiped them away, despite no-one watching. She had broken down in front of Gohan earlier, and she regretted it. She didn't quite know why, but she liked having the tough girl image that she had acquired over the years.  
  
'I guess I do kinda take after my dad.' Videl smiled, followed by a heavy sigh. She had been wandering around in pain for about half an hour, with no clue where she was. The most she had discovered were seemingly endless, dark corridors.  
  
It was just then that a door seemed to suddenly open in front of her, as if by magic. Light was beaming through the wall, and Videl could see a room inside.  
  
"What? No way!" Videl cried, leaping up to her feet, although the slight jolt of pain this caused her made her cringe slightly.  
  
Even though she had her doubts about entering, it seemed there was something compelling her to enter. Videl was dismissing it as her thrive for action and nothing more. Besides, entering the room would be much better than trolling around corridors for another hour or so, right?  
  
  
  
"Help me. Help me please."  
  
Gohan could hear the voice, but not see where it was coming from.  
  
"Where are you?" he called. Upon waking up the first thing he had heard had been calls of distress. He didn't particularly recognise the voice, but his good nature had compelled him to help out.  
  
"I'm over here," the voice called out. Gohan could definitely tell it was female.  
  
"Hold on," he called, following the sound of her voice. On his way he considered the possibilities as to what may have happened. Someone had grabbed him, stabbed him; and some high-pitched noise had invaded his head. Next thing he knew, he was in a dark room, in incredible pain, and could hear somebody calling out. However, he had been surprised to find no stab wounds on him at all. It was an even bigger surprise to find he wasn't dead.  
  
Turning a corner, he could just make out a human figure sprawled on the ground. Moving closer, he realised that a girl had her legs stuck under a fairly large rock. However he couldn't make out her face.  
  
"Does it hurt?" he asked gently.  
  
"I'm.not sure," she responded. "All I know is that I can't move."  
  
Gohan ignored his own pain and leant down beside her. The girl smiled at him in the process. Gohan wasn't quite sure but he could swear that the girl seemed all too.familiar. But it definitely wasn't Videl or Erasa.  
  
Weirdly, Gohan found it difficult to pull up the rock. It was as if he had no energy at all! Summoning all the strength he could, he once more attempted to lift it.  
  
"You're going to have to move your legs when I lift up this rock, and quickly. They could be broken so it might hurt, but I have no other choice I'm sorry." He told her firmly. The girl nodded in agreement.  
  
Straining his muscles, he wrenched the rock off the ground, grunting heavily as he did so. The girl moved her legs, yelping in what Gohan assumed to be pain at the same time. He was confused, why was this so hard to do? Eventually the strain became too much for him and he had to let go of it.  
  
Holding his chest, he fell to the floor breathing heavily. The pressure from lifting the rock up had only added to the pain he still felt from earlier.  
  
"You okay?" he muttered.  
  
He could see the girl slowly pull herself up and trundle over to him. Now that he could see her properly, he was sure he could recognise her. The redhead above him held a hand out to him, he grabbed it and pulled himself up.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," she finally responded. "Legs are a bit sore but I'll manage. Thank you Gohan."  
  
At the mention of his name he sparked up. He did know this girl. She was in his class at school, but.why was she here? The only problem was that he had forgotten her name.  
  
"Hello.Gohan? It's me Angela."  
  
"Oh yeah hey." Gohan stumbled out. At least he didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of not knowing who she was.  
  
"Thanks for rescuing me," she said, beaming. "I didn't even know you were here!"  
  
"Here.er, where is here?" Gohan asked confused. Did Angela know where they were?  
  
"I don't know," Angela responded. "I was in the alleyway beside my house thinking to myself; when I suddenly felt this weird noise in my head which hurt like hell. Then I just found myself here, and my leg was stuck under that rock."  
  
"Oh I see; you must have been the girl we heard scream first." Gohan noted.  
  
"Eh?" Angela responded in confusion.  
  
"Never mind." Gohan answered.  
  
'This is great; Videl and the others must be here. At least they're not dead.' He thought to himself happily. A smile appeared on his face.  
  
"Why so happy?" Angela questioned.  
  
"Huh, oh nothing. Come on, let's go find the others." Gohan quickly responded, grabbing Angela by the arm and pulling her along with him.  
  
"Others.?"  
  
(AN: In this story Gohan never went out with Angela. I just needed another character in the story and went with her rather than making my own up. :P)  
  
  
  
The room was exceptionally large in comparison to the corridors Videl had been trolling around in for the last half an hour or so. However it still retained its dull blue colour. There were balconies high above and the room was distinctly circular shaped.  
  
In the centre, something caught Videl's eye. It seemed to be some sort of platform. Again something compelled her to read it, but once more Videl dismissed this. Upon reaching the platform she noticed a placard. Curiously, she read it:  
  
'The Game of Life, five shall play  
  
Not as the predator, but the prey'  
  
"The hell does that mean?" Videl questioned out loud.  
  
An eerie silence filled the room that caused Videl to shiver violently. It was almost like.she was being watched. Unexpectedly, the ground began rumbling. It was only faint, but Videl could definitely feel it.  
  
'I don't think I should stay in here,' she proposed to herself. The rumbling was getting stronger and Videl was beginning to panic. Ignoring any pain she still felt, she found herself sprinting back towards the door she came in from.  
  
The shock of the loud bang that occurred just a short distance ahead of her made Videl fall to her feet and cover her ears. She was petrified, and felt too weak to do anything about it. Slowly looking up she noticed that the door had slammed shut; steel iron bars covering it.  
  
Pulling both herself and her courage up as high as she could, she continued racing to the door as a last-ditch attempt. She had a nasty feeling that something was behind her, and she didn't want to know what it was. Reaching the door she screamed and tugged desperately at the iron bars, but her attempts were futile.  
  
"Please, someone help me. Please, HELP ME!"  
  
All went quiet as the room, as if answering her pleas; stopped shaking. Videl stood perfectly still, not even daring to blink. Was the thing behind her gone?  
  
"Come on Videl.you can do it. Face your fear. All you have to do is just. turn around."  
  
Screaming, she swung her head around, half-expecting to see something she didn't want to. However, the room was just as it was before, podium and all. Smiling, she let out a sigh of relief. It must have been the fear of being alone that made her believe that there was something behind her. Even so the room was locked, with no escape. It seemed hopeless.  
  
"Guys.where are you."  
  
  
  
Crouched on the ceiling, the organism observed Videl from 30 metres above. It had tasted her fear, and it liked it.  
  
Smashing its tail into the roof, it caused one final explosive tremor. Grinning as the human girl fell to the floor, it decided it was time to eliminate its prey.  
  
Signalling the beginning of its advance, it hollered its predatory war cry. Hungrily, it focused its eyes on the girl's own; watching as its prey let out a shrieking noise and backed away.  
  
As usual, this would be a good kill.  
  
  
  
Notes: Please review.  
  
I don't know how long it will be until Chapter 3 is up, as my site comes first, and we're currently having hosting problems. Also I have a ton of information to write for it. But I will do it soon. 


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